Catholic communities from Indonesia and Papua New Guinea marked this year’s Marian Month with a cross-border pilgrimage, carrying the statue of Our Lady of Yonggom from Ninati Parish in South Papua to Kunggim Parish in Papua New Guinea’s Western Province.
The journey began in Ninati Village, part of the Archdiocese of Merauke, where community members placed the Marian statue aboard an open truck packed with pilgrims.
Together with local leaders, they travelled to the Border Post (PLBN) at boundary marker MM 81, which marks the frontier between Indonesian Papua and Papua New Guinea.
At the crossing point, the group was received by Fr. Wiwit CM, an Indonesian Lazaris missionary priest, and parishioners of Kunggim Parish in the Diocese of Daru-Kiunga.
In what organizers described as “a moment filled with reverence and unity,” the two communities gathered at the border to pray the Rosary. “This act of prayer became a symbol of the unity of believers across nations, cultures, and languages,” the organizers said.
The pilgrims continued their journey on foot, walking through forest trails toward Kunggim Village. Along the route, they paused at four prayer stations to reflect on the Mysteries of the Rosary.
Upon arrival, the statue was welcomed with the traditional Muyu-Yonggom ceremony, reflecting the local culture’s deep reverence for Mary.
The procession concluded at The Lady of Papua Church, where a Eucharistic celebration was held as an expression of gratitude and devotion.
The event highlighted the close spiritual ties between Catholic communities in the two countries, united in their devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. – with reports from Fr. Fabianus Tutuboy Pr.
